"There's only a limit to how much a [player] can throw," said Jobe on WFUV's sports talk show One-on-One. "[The arm] has to have recovery time."

He isn't alone. Dr. Anthony Scillia is an orthapaedic surgeon at the New Jersey Orthaepedic Institute.

"I think it’s pretty clear that this is seen as an overuse injury and it comes from chronic damage overtime to the [elbow] ligament," said Scillia. "The ligament can’t heal itself, that’s why the surgery is required.”

But with Major League Baseball squads closely monitoring how much pitchers throw, how are athletes overusing their arms and needing Tommy John surgery more often?

Well, while big league clubs can track how much their star players throw, they can't control how much a player throws as a teenager. When an athlete plays year-round with Little League, travel teams, high school baseball, college baseball, the minor leagues, and eventually (if the stars align) the major leagues, doctors say the elbow ligament can eventually wear down and tear.